| Release Date: | 092223 |
| Currently: | In stock (1) |
| Please note: | Shipping and In-Store pickup Options are Available at Checkout. |
September 22 street date. The Japanese band CHAI cast a spell on the world in 2017 with their debut album, "PINK", a collection of songs that introduced their singular brand of playful pop.
The enthusiastically feminist follow-up, "PUNK", raked in accolades from the music press and fellow artists. That led to "WINK", which CHAI made via remote Zoom sessions, a limitation that became a strength by allowing the members of CHAI to collaborate with artists abroad to create a work that found catharsis in their international community. Unlike "WINK", the band's new self-titled album finds CHAI returning to their roots, drawing inspiration from their Japanese heritage and the music that raised them. On "CHAI", the band draws directly from city pop, a Tokyo-born sound popularized in the 1970s and 80s. City pop was a Japanese take on Western lounge music, borrowing from jazz, boogie, funk, and yacht rock to create a sound that straddled two cultures. For production, they tapped previous collaborator Ryu Takahashi, who shared their love of city pop, eurobeat, and the melodies of J-pop artists like Maria Takeuchi. "They wanted to dig into their Japanese identity, not in a traditional sense, but in this filtered Western way", Takahashi says.
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